Saturday, October 13, 2012

I was so excited when I spotted this pair of hand-made mahogany planters with string inlay at a rummage sale recently. They have custom zinc liners that are removable too. They cleaned up nicely and I finished them with a coat of Butchers Wax.

I have no idea how long these johnny jump ups will last in the house but it's nice having them in my kitchen for even a short while. They came in my Easter Basket this year.

Henry went home and Webster is sound asleep after a busy day babysitting and playing. [my photos]

I'm usually not one for ruffles but I like this knitted pullover whatever you call it (capelet). I'm going to look for a pattern and knit one. I have red yarn! If you find one first, please let me know. Knitter: Anemone.

We have Henry the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel for the day and he's a cone head. He got an infected nail and this cone collar keeps him from licking the boo boo. It doesn't bother him one bit. You should have seen Tabitha (the cat) trying to figure out what he had on his head. It was hilarious. I gave him a Canine Cottage Special for breakfast and once again, he was a member of the clean plate club. I love to see dogs eat with gusto.

The big crates of local and New York State apples are one of my favorite things about fall. We had our first frost last night and at 8am it was 34 degrees outside my bedroom window. Thankfully, I brought in my geraniums and put a cover on cast iron urn that is by the front door. I have to dig those plants up and repot them. Have a great weekend. See you later.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

I took this photo when Webster and I had our dog duty with his two little friends a few weeks ago. I loved the shadows on the bark of this old tree. We have bright sun and crisp cool air outside here at the cottage today. Our town is giving free flu shots this afternoon and that's the only thing on my calendar. The grass in the front needs a good mowing so I'll fire up the push mower after the morning dew evaporates. See you later.

WOW...Look at the lengths these brave men with their tall ladders are taking to control an insect. Early efforts to eradicate gypsy moths included "egg-scraping parties" to remove egg masses before the larvae hatched. See other archival photos here.

Have you EVER seen anything more adorable? Tell me please what they are. I want one! via

Update: I found out and if I ever go to Switzerland I want to pet (not eat) one. The Valais Blacknose is a breed of domestic sheep originating in the Valais region. It is a coarse-wooled breed from Switzerland kept primarily for meat. Both rams and ewes are horned.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

I adore this kitchen with almost no counter space, don't you. I love that rolling accordion trolley as a sink base too. You will definitely enjoy seeing more of this New Hampshire Lake Cabin via Country Living with lots of before and after photos in the slideshow.

I don't know if we are going to have a beautiful fall with lots of color this year or not. There seems to be a total lack of red. Just green, yellow, brown, and then they fall to the ground. So many of the leaves have this spotted disease too. We shall see. There is a light rain this morning and Webster got his walk so I don't have to feel guilty today when I leave for my office meeting and my very own open house. See you later.

Monday, October 8, 2012

The mushroom is now bigger than the ball. I took this iPhone yesterday on the last walk of the day with Webster. I have been soooooo busy with paperwork for a new real estate listing and taking photos for the MLS that I haven't even walked poor Webster at all today. It is almost 9pm and I'm going out with him now. My poor mother has been letting him out for me. I have an open house tomorrow so I'll be busy until afternoon and then things should go on auto-pilot. I always work very hard to get everything done before the listing goes live but couldn't get the interior photos until today because of work being done inside. I just uploaded them so I can relax and watch some TV after the walk.

Even though it's a smaller than normal basketball, you've got to admit this is a big mushroom we have growing here at the cottage. Photographed yesterday while walking the dogs and playing kickball in the afternoon.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Just in time for the upcoming holiday season, Martha will be teaching us to cook on Sundays on PBS. This is great for those who never had access to her daily show on the Hallmark Channel on cable TV. PBS to the rescue.

Click here if you are unable to view this preview of her upcoming show. She's teaching how to make hollandaise sauce in a segment about eggs.

PBS Responds To Romney:
Cutting Federal Funding Would Have ‘Virtually No Impact’ On the Deficit -- The federal investment in public broadcasting equals about one one-hundredth of one percent (0.0001%) of the federal budget. Elimination of funding would have virtually no impact on the nation’s debt, yet the loss to the American public would be devastating. Read full statement from PBS here.This is a follow-up to my earlier blog post.

This is our little house guest for a few days. He goes home late this afternoon. Henry is a picky eater but I finally figured out his problem. His food is tasteless! Sooooooo, I've been doctoring it up. This morning I poured hot soy milk left over from my latte over his cold wet food from the fridge and I mixed some of Webster's kibble along with the awful stuff he brought. Henry became a member of the 'Clean Plate Club' for the very first time ever this morning! See that wagging tail? I think he wants more.

Edward BIDDLE (1738-1779) uncle of Richard Biddle, a Delegate from Pennsylvania; born in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1738; entered the provincial army as an ensign in 1754, promoted to lieutenant and captain, and served until 1763, when he resigned; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Reading, Pa.; member of the State assembly 1767-1775, serving as speaker in 1774; member of the provincial convention held at Philadelphia in 1775; again a member of the State assembly in 1778; Member of the Continental Congresses in 1774 and 1775; died at Chatsworth, near Baltimore, Md., September 5, 1779; interment in St. Paul’s Churchyard, Baltimore, Md. via

Mitt Romney's comments about cutting funding to PBS during Wednesday's presidential debate inspired a new political demonstration: The Million Muppet March. I couldn't believe my ears. I love PBS and don't know one single person who does not.

Click here if you can't see this video published by The New York Times.

Pretty soon all of these leaves will be on the ground. We are going to have a little more summer today as the temperature is supposed to rise to 80 degrees and I think it will feel good. The predicted high on Sunday will be only 54 degrees. I think I'll clean out my fireplace and get ready for a good roaring fire when I watch PBS on Sunday night. See you later.

This kitchen has some great features that I love including the built-in open cupboard to the left of the range and the large picture window. I would love to see the rest of this fabulous country kitchen. via